Inside the dilapidated wooden shack, the dim flame of an oil lamp flickered, casting a slender but resilient shadow against the mottled walls.
One month.
Thirty days. Seven hundred and twenty hours.
From the night her initial cultivation had drawn the city guards—only to be suppressed by the mysterious elder—to the night thirty days later when her watchers had fled in terror, Elena hadn't wasted a single second.
Aside from the bare minimum needed for food and sleep, she had poured over ten hours every day into a grueling, near-masochistic regime.
The void in her lower abdomen, where her Mana Core had been brutally gouged out, was now filled with a refined, icy Shadow Energy. Although the Fate System remained offline and her official magic skills were dead-locked, Shadow Breathing—a physical cultivation technique relying purely on flesh and soul—had taken deep, ferocious root within her.
"Inhale... Exhale..."
Elena sat cross-legged on the cold floor, each breath following a precise, rhythmic cadence. As her chest rose and fell, faint shadow particles drifted through the air like thin, violet-black threads, seeping through her pores to temper her bones and meridians.
Sweat rolled down her auburn hair, soaking her tattered collar, but her gaze remained colder and more determined than ever.
A month ago, her progress in Shadow Breathing was a measly 4.2%, and her Combat Power had barely recovered to 350 from the brink of death. Now, after a month of hellish training, the results were staggering.
Her Shadow Breathing completion had soared from 4.2% to 35.1%.
With the explosive growth of Shadow Energy, her Vitality, Agility, and Strength had undergone a comprehensive leap, stabilizing her Combat Power firmly at the 350 mark. If word of this growth rate reached House Nocturne, the high-and-mighty elders would be paralyzed with shock.
"Whew..."
Elena exhaled a cloud of turbid black air and slowly opened her eyes.
On this very night, the ring on her left ring finger suddenly erupted with a purple light a hundred times more intense than any previous reaction. The violet glow, which had sent the watchers scurrying in fear, was now so dense it felt physical, enveloping her in a soft cocoon of light that refused to dissipate.
Inside the ring, an ancient will that had slept for ages was finally stirring.
A violent yet gentle surge of strength tugged at her soul, and the scenery before her spun without warning.
When Elena opened her eyes again, her surroundings had transformed completely.
Gone was the shack, the stench of mold, and the biting midnight wind.
She found herself standing in a vast, boundless void.
Above and beneath her, violet nebulae swirled and flowed. The starlight gathered under her feet to form a transparent crystal floor that rippled like water with every step.
"Where is... this?"
Elena gripped her Shadowfang Dagger, scanning the surroundings warily.
Suddenly, a massive purple crystal manifested in the void ahead. Within it, gentle rays of light wove together, eventually forming the tall, elegant silhouette of a woman.
Then, a hauntingly familiar, incredibly tender voice echoed through the empty space.
"Elena... my daughter."
The moment she heard that voice, Elena froze as if struck by lightning.
The voice was so warm, filled with an endless maternal love and longing that had visited her dreams countless nights.
"Mom... Mother?!"
Elena’s voice trembled violently, her eyes instantly reddening.
"This is a lingering remnant of my consciousness, my child," the voice within the crystal said with a slight rasp and a gentle smile. "If you can hear these words and activate this space... it means you have met with misfortune, perhaps even faced unimaginable despair and suffering."
As her mother’s voice faded, dazzling gold characters ignited across the surface of the giant crystal.
The 50% threshold reached last night was merely the progress for the ring’s outer seal to crumble. Now that the seal was gone, the true artifact hidden within the depths of the ring was finally beginning to wake. Its own path to awakening would be a brand-new journey.
[System Initializing]
═════════════════════════════
[Mother's Ring] True Name Revealing...
True Name: Heart of Chronos
Grade: Mythic (Current Awakening: 10%)
Creator: Seraphina Nocturne
═════════════════════════════
[Identification Requirements]
1. Owner's Bloodline (Elena Nocturne) – Met
2. Shadow Energy ≥ 50 – Met
3. Strong Will to Live – Met
4. Experience Despair and Rebirth – Met
All conditions met!
Commencing partial unlock...
Mythic-grade!
Seeing the lines of text hovering in the void, Elena’s heart hammered against her ribs.
In the gear system of the entire continent, there was Common, Rare, Blue, Refined, Epic, Legendary... and above Legendary sat the supreme, near-miraculous "Mythic" grade.
Her mother had left her a Mythic-tier divine artifact.
In the void, the projection of Seraphina Nocturne drifted down, her illusory hand gently stroking Elena’s cheek. Though there was no physical touch, the warmth of that maternal love pierced straight to her soul.
"Elena, I know the rot and darkness within House Nocturne..."
A flash of deep sorrow and coldness crossed Seraphina's eyes. "I know your brother Vincent’s twisted heart, and I know your father Alaric has long been blinded by profit. I anticipated that one day, they would drive you into a corner, even abandon or destroy you..."
"That is why I spent 10 years and my life’s blood to forge this [Heart of Chronos]."
"This was meant to be your gift on your 18th birthday, but now... it will be the foundation for your survival on this cruel continent."
Tears finally escaped Elena’s eyes.
A month’s worth of humiliation, pain, loneliness, and despair erupted in that single moment.
"Mom..." Elena bit her lip, her voice choked with sobs. "Vincent... my own brother, he dug out my Mana Core with his own hands! Father stripped me of my status and threw me out like trash! Everyone abandoned me. They all wanted me dead!"
"Don’t cry, child."
Seraphina’s image pulled Elena into a gentle embrace, her voice carrying a reassuring strength. "Dry your eyes. If the Mana Core is destroyed, then use the shadows to reshape your body. If the family abandons you, then build your own order with your own hands. This ring will give you the chance to rewrite your fate."
"Now, look at the power I left for you."
With a light tap of Seraphina’s finger, the giant crystal erupted in brilliant light once more. A complex attribute panel unfurled before Elena like a grand scroll.
[Heart of Chronos]
═════════════════════════════
Grade: Mythic
Current Awakening: 10% / 100%
Binding: Elena Nocturne (Soul-bound, Permanent)
[Unlocked Functions]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Function 1: [Storage Space]
Capacity: 1,000 cubic meters
Properties:
- Can store any non-living object
- No weight limit
- Time Stasis (Food never spoils)
- Instant access
Status: Active
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Function 2: [Time Dilation Space]
Ratio: 1 minute outside = 6 hours inside (1:360)
Properties:
- Owner can physically enter
- Cultivation/Rest/Learning possible inside
- Experience 360x time
- No aging penalty
Example: 1 day outside = 360 days inside (Approx. 1 year)
Status: Active
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Function 3 - ?: [Locked]
- Requires 20% Awakening
- Requires absorption of Voidstone Cores
- Requires hidden conditions (Unknown)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Upgrade Requirements
Current: 10% Awakening
Next Tier (20%):
- Absorb 10 Voidstone Cores
- Shadow Breathing ≥ 50%
- Kill 100 Shadow Creatures
Elena stared at the panel, her throat working as she swallowed hard. She was completely stunned.
A 1,000-cubic-meter storage box with time stasis? That surpassed every expensive high-grade storage ring on the market.
But what truly made her scalp tingle and her blood boil was the second function—the [Time Dilation Space].
One minute outside was six hours inside?
One day outside was 360 days inside?
Almost a full year.
What did that mean?
It meant that while Vincent and those "geniuses" at the academy spent a single day in reality, she could spend an entire year of frantic cultivation in this magical space.
What did she lack most? It wasn't talent or willpower—it was the precious time needed to rise again after her Mana Core had been destroyed.
And now, the [Heart of Chronos] had delivered the world’s most luxurious resource directly into her hands.
"Time... a 360-fold acceleration..."
Elena’s fingers shook as a frantic, unprecedented light sparked in her eyes. "With this... I have infinite possibilities!"
"Exactly."
Seraphina’s voice grew faint and transparent; her remnant was dissolving into starlight. "One day outside, one year of cultivation. Use it well, my child. Become strong quickly. Take back everything that belongs to you, and then... make everyone who hurt and betrayed you pay a devastating price!"
"Mom!"
Elena reached out, but Seraphina’s image had already shattered into a million purple sparks, merging into the vast space.
Only Elena remained standing on the empty crystal floor.
She wiped her eyes, her gaze returning to its icy, resolute state.
"Mother, I won't let you down."
A second later, Elena’s consciousness crashed back into reality.
"Hah... hah..."
She bolted upright on her cold wooden bed, drenched in sweat as if she’d just been pulled from a lake.
A burning sensation radiated from the back of her hand. The ancient ring on her left ring finger had returned to its quiet state, but a vast power of time and space now pulsed within it.
It wasn't a dream.
Elena took a deep breath, forcing down the tidal wave of excitement. Without hesitation, she issued a command in her mind: "Enter [Time Dilation Space]!"
Buzz!
The air rippled slightly.
An illusory door emitting a pure white glow appeared in the center of the shack.
[Time Dilation Space - Entrance]
Elena gripped the Shadowfang Dagger at her waist and stepped through the portal without a second thought.
A blinding flash passed.
When her feet hit solid ground again, she found herself in a pure white, enclosed space of about 100 square meters. There were no walls, only swirling white light. Countless visible particles of violet-black Shadow Energy swam through the air like schools of fish.
The moment she stepped in, Elena felt every pore on her body snap open.
The concentration of Shadow Energy here was five times that of the outside world.
Simultaneously, the system panel flickered to life on the left side of her vision:
[Entered Time Dilation Space]
Current Time Flow: 1:360
Outside Time: Frozen...
Inside Time: Flowing normally
[Space Properties]
Shadow Energy Concentration: +500%
Cultivation Efficiency: +300%
Stamina Recovery Speed: +200%
Five times the energy concentration! Triple the efficiency! Double the recovery! And 360 times the time ratio!
This wasn't just a cultivation space; it was a holy land tailored specifically for a revenger.
"This is incredible..."
Elena trembled. She refused to waste another half-second, sitting cross-legged in the center of the white space and activating Shadow Breathing with everything she had.
Boom!
The moment her breathing technique started, the terrifying violet-black Shadow Energy surged toward her like a breaking dam, flooding into her body.
It was so fast.
The speed of absorption was many times faster than in the shack. Every wisp of Shadow Energy that flowed into her lower abdomen enhanced her physical strength and meridian durability. With the doubled recovery speed, the fatigue that usually came after ten hours of training was being dispelled as quickly as it appeared.
One hour...
Two hours...
Three hours...
Inside the Time Dilation Space, Elena immersed herself entirely in the pleasure of skyrocketing power. Sweat was evaporated by the abundant Shadow Energy as soon as it hit her skin. Her breathing grew more precise, and a shadow storm began to brew slowly within her chest.
After what felt like six hours—
Elena snapped her eyes open, a sharp flash of violet light flickering deep in her pupils.
[Combat Log]
Cultivated in [Time Dilation Space] for 6 hours (subjective time).
Shadow Energy absorption complete!
Shadow Breathing Completion: 35.1% → 36.8% (+1.7%)
Shadow Energy Capacity increased!
In just six subjective hours of high-efficiency cultivation, her progress had increased by 1.7%. In the outside world, that would have required several days of non-stop training without food or water.
With a thought, Elena stepped out of the portal and back into the dilapidated shack.
She glanced at the moon outside, then at the oil lamp on the table. The wick had barely burned a microscopic amount.
Outside... only a single minute had passed.
"It really was just one minute!" Elena clenched her fists, her eyes shining.
Exchanging one minute for six hours of results—this terrifying, heaven-defying gap was her ultimate trump card to rewrite her fate.
She calmed her racing heart and summoned her full attribute panel once more.
[Current Status]
Name: Elena Nocturne
Level: 1 (Equivalent to Level 9)
HP: 60
MP: 0
Combat Power: 350
AGI: 32
STR: 18
VIT: 15
Shadow Energy: 68/200
Class: Shadowdancer (S-Rank)
Weapon: Shadowfang Dagger (Blue)
Official Skills: All Locked (Mana Core destroyed, Fate System offline)
Cultivation Skills: Shadow Breathing (36.8%)
Title: [The Fallen Genius] (Forced)
Condition: [Hope Rekindled], [Seeking Guidance]
Location: Slums District – Dilapidated Shack
Monthly Income: 100 Gold (Archives Janitor Salary)
[New Unlocks]
[Heart of Chronos] (Mythic, 10% Awakened)
Storage Space: 1,000 cubic meters
Time Dilation: 1:360
Other Functions: Locked
[Progress]
Shadow Breathing: 36.8%
Awakening Requirements:
- Shadow Breathing 50% (13.2% remaining)
- Voidstone Cores 0/10
- Shadow Creature Kills 9/100
Staring at the data, Elena’s gaze gradually grew quiet. After the joy came a chilling, clear-headed calm.
"It's not enough..." she whispered to herself, her eyes reflecting a ruthlessness and maturity far beyond her years.
"Even with 360 times more time, my Combat Power is still only 350 points."
"350 points barely matches a normal freshman who just awakened. But Vincent... that beast reached A-Rank Shadow Blade six months ago. His Combat Power is well over 1,500!"
"Not to mention, he has the backing of the entire House Nocturne."
With her current foundation, rushing back for revenge would be like throwing an egg against a stone.
"The [Heart of Chronos] is only 10% awakened."
Elena carefully studied the requirements. "To unlock the next tier, I don't just need Shadow Breathing at 50%—I need 10 rare Voidstone Cores and 100 shadow creature kills."
Voidstone Cores were incredibly expensive. With her current savings from odd jobs and black-market gigs, she couldn't afford a single one. As for shadow creatures... where would she find high-threat monsters near the peaceful Highborn Quarter?
Elena walked to the window.
Tonight, the moonlight was like water. Across the filth of the Slums District, at the highest point of the inner city, the towering spires of Celestia Arcane Academy glimmered with the cold, holy light of magic.
That was the sanctuary of the nobles, the place she was once proud of—and the place where she had been stripped of everything.
"Training blindly on my own is still too slow."
Elena stared at the distant spires, a cold fire igniting in her eyes.
"That elder at the Archives... he is a master of the ancient Veilwalking system. He even pointed out the mysteries of Shadow Breathing to me."
"Tomorrow morning, I must go to the Abandoned Archive again."
"I'll ask him how to get Voidstone Cores quickly... and where to find a horde of shadow creatures to hunt."
Elena touched the ancient ring, which hummed with a faint purple light. Her lips curled into a hard, decisive sneer.
Vincent.
Alaric.
And everyone else who watched the show and kicked me while I was down.
Just you wait.
With the secrets of time and space on my side, when I finally bare my fangs from the shadows... it will be the day you are utterly destroyed.